Monk
USA Network
Fridays at 10pm Eastern, with numerous repeats during the week, and also on ABC, Tuesday nights at 9pm Eastern - though I don't know if that's going to shift as their full Fall lineup comes in.
The
almost strangely likeable Tony Shalhoub (whom you've doubtless seen in at
least one of the following films: Spy Kids, Galaxy Quest, The
Man Who Wasn't There, The Siege, A Civil Action, Searching
for Bobby Fischer, The Impostors, Primary Colors,
Gattaca, Men in Black, Big Night, Barton Fink,
Honeymoon in Vegas, Quick Change, Longtime Companion,
13 Ghosts, and Life or Something Like It. and on tie sit-coms
Stark Raving Mad and Wings), now stars in an excellent series
on the USA Network.
Starring as the titular Adrian Monk, he plays a former rising star detective with the San Francisco Police Department. Legendary for using unconventional methods, the eidetic detective solved some of the department's most baffling cases. But after the tragic (and still unsolved) murder of Trudy, his wife, a devastated Monk became obsessive-compulsive. Now plagued by various phobias, almost everything causes him angst: germs, heights, crowds - even milk. His condition eventually cost him his job, and continuously poses unique challenges as he goes about his daily life. He is in therapy for his condition, but signs of progress in overcoming his psychological disorder are spotty at best. Now working as a private consultant, Monk continues to investigate various cases using his incisive, meticulous mind and unconventional approaches.
Obviously at least heavily socially-handicapped, Monk
has employed Sharona Fleming (played by Bitty Schram) as a personal assitant
and nurse. She helps him deal with situations - sealed pouches of disinfectant
cleaning sheets always in a purse or pocket, for instance - and generally
helps him through by acting as social lubricant with the unwary and by reminding
Monk when his behavior is becoming disruptive.
With only a few episodes aired as of this writing, the promising premise has been happily lived up to, if not surpassed. Early indications are that the show's strength lies in its characters. The mysteries have been enjoyable, but by the third episode (including an amusing performance by Adam Arkin as Dale "the Whale", a bedridden, grotesquely obese mastermind) the clues needed to solve the crime were somewhat heavily handed to the audience, and some of the backstory proved brittle under some exaggeration. Regardless - and hopefully even those problems will prove to be the exception - the characters in general and Adrian's bizarre phobias in particular keep things interesting, especially when encountered in such crisply-paced scripts.
Were I to warn against a possible, eventual weakness in the show it would be the pressure to turn the Adrian/Sharona relationship down a romantic path. They've been almost too-consciously steering away from that so far by having Sharona be on the make for a man in the course of helping Monk with his cases, but simultaneously we also see her being touched by aspects of Monk's character, particularly by romantic elements connected to his deceased wife. His illness should remain a sufficient barrier in the hands of capable writers, though. Revelations concerning his wife's murder - if, how and when to solve it - present a trickier proposition. Hopefully the show's creators had that pinned down from the start, whether it's a cunning revelation or (and this is more to my liking) intended to be an insoluble case, or perhaps one they'll reserve until they use it as a planned final episode.
This series is the second, recent surprise from the USA Network, the first being the surprisingly watchable series adaption of Stephen King's The Dead Zone.(Which I've yet to bother myself to write anything about.) I've seldom had much interest in their programming, so 2002 has been a surprisingly good year for them.
MJN
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